ANALYSIS

The ‘Con’ to Christian Ponder’s Game

Christian Ponder is a well documented smart quarterback, but that did not translate in his rookie season. His completion percentage of 54.3% was the biggest problem. Accuracy in the NFL is essential to be a top flight QB. When you look at the other quarterbacks in his draft class, most notably Cam Newton and Andy Dalton, their completion percentages were 60%, and 58.1% respectively. This is nothing to write home about, but the biggest differences between Ponder and these two quarterbacks is the big play.

Other Quarterbacks of the 2011 Draft Class

Cam Newton is a big play just waiting to happen and Andy Dalton showed he was able to orchestrate key, well timed momentum turning drives. Ponder on the other hand, is not the driving force behind the big plays on the Vikings. Granted, he does not have some of the weapons of the other quarterbacks, but you need to use the assets you have and put them in a situation to succeed. I have not seen that from Ponder up to this point.

He has shown the ability to move in the pocket and escape, but compared to his counterparts in his draft class, he is falling short statistically and in winning football games.